I've been a professional musician for over 40 years. Obviously things have changed a lot in those 40 years. In the beginning I could make pretty good money gigging and selling a few records (gee I forgot when I started they only had records... whew).

But now it's hard to sell music except at gigs or on your website. Forget about getting a record contract. Online downloads has taken care of that unless you go totally pop or get real lucky.

So the question is... how do we make money now. Is it down to...

1. Get fans through various online methods

2. Get gigs (because you have fans now or because you play what the club owner wants to hear)

3. Sell CD's to the people that come to gigs.

Has this become our only business model?

What if you don't want to play lousy gigs?

How do you get to that mid level where you can sell enough music to relax or have enough fans to just play good gigs at larger venues.

This has always been an avocation rather than my career. Good thing or I would have died of it long ago! I didn't even get started, really until the mid 90's when i was in my late 30's. Pay was higher over all at that time and place than it is here and now. Wife and I have a duo and we sell cd's mostly hand to hand. We don't play gigs because her shoulder won't let her play guitar that long.I have another partner who I do duo stuff and 4 piece stuff with. We take lower pay sometimes just to get out and be noticed. We have no cd as yet but hope to next year.

Street and farmers market playing has been part of our thing too although we have rarely gotten paid very well or locked a good gig out of that. It's still one of our favorite things because we reach so many people and have a good effect. I think it would be cool to have a booth and something to sell and sit back and play for patrons. Some vendors would love for us to play in their booth but won't pay us so.....

If you have gadgets and music to sell online you may make a modest profit. Otherwise it's best to play out of love.

Selling the music at gigs has long been the model for bluegrass/hillbilly bands going back to the age of selling 8 track and cassette tapes and other merchandise at anything that even resembled a gig. I see a lot of the older acts that no longer command big shows have gone back to that. I recently saw Joe Ely at a show and, after the show, he came out to the front of the theater where they had a merchandise table and he was there to help hawk the wares, autograph cd's and t-shirts etc. I think some fans buy stuff then as an opportunity to get up close and personal with the performer.

I think some of the bluegrass bands I saw years ago at small town festivals probably didn't get paid much at all and had to travel but they made some of it up selling the stuff before, during and after a show. Most were not shy about announcing that they had stuff for sale at the table. It's an old model that must still have some validity.

It's how I started out 50 years ago,playing in the NYC parks and the subways in the winter.Wash. Square Park was where the money was at.It's been good.I plan on going out the same way.A road show.Kinda like a Carny/Tent Revival.Ms.,Al.,Austin,Boston,the list is endless.Bring our own stage,guitar,bass, harp,hi-hat and snare.I plan on taking gas money off the top,give the rest back to the town somehow.Life,s been pretty good,all things considered.I guess I'l give a little back.

I make money through my great talent. I've sold lots of records and I'm a real pro, not a useless hobbyist. I used to be in one of greatest bands that ever existed, but the bastards threw me out. I'm one of the greatest recording engineers that ever lived. PM me if you have any questions, as I don't give out my secrets in public.

After trying for weeks to find out about permits, I gave up as nobody in local Tampa government knows... not even the cops! I see the city set up a kind of flat land amphitheater for the office lunch crowd where the food trucks hover around and there's one scheduled performer per day or something.That's getting a gig - NOT buskering!I don't know anymore about anything ...

There's still a lot of GREAT gigs arond the state but you gotta drive to them AND the worst part of it for 99% of the burnouts I've experienced around the Tampa,Clearwater/ St.Pete areas is - they won't rehearse a show together!If you don't care to do that then, this is what you get ... a shitty music scene with everyone playing the same old stuff for little to NO pay.I'm in my 60's and this is all I've done since 1967. I'm heartbroken over it. But ... I won't quit looking for players with the same mindset.Until then, It'll be solo acoustic (maybe duo if right partner can be found).